


Something Even Better

by ahyperactivehero (ahyperactiverhero)



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Aziraphale Needs A Hug, Drabble, Ficlet, Library of Alexandria, M/M, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahyperactiverhero/pseuds/ahyperactivehero
Summary: Prompt: Please don’t cry. I hate seeing you cry.XCrowley gives Aziraphale an idea as they watch the Library of Alexandria burn.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	Something Even Better

Aziraphale could only stand by and watch as all of the information in the Library of Alexandria went up in flames. Scrolls of irreplaceable text were burning, priceless artifacts were being destroyed, and all records were soon going to be absolutely indecipherable. 

There would never be another library like it.

He’d fallen in love with human texts long ago, so long that he almost couldn’t remember when it had started. Humans were so fascinating, could come up with the most outlandish stories or reasons for things, things that he never could have even imagined. Some of them were so far off from the truth that it was amusing to compare it to what actually happened (such as The Creation of the Universe), while others were so dead on he wondered if some of them had ever spoken to an actual angel or demon before (mainly, he wondered if Crowley had been giving up ‘trade secrets’ to humans while tempting them. He did seem to enjoy humans with great imaginations, after all).

Regardless of what the humans believed, there was a desire for knowledge and an even stronger desire to share that knowledge that he had noticed in humans, even come to admire about them. Once one of them figured something out they would inevitably write about it, share their findings, work through whatever problem it was…

But a lot of that knowledge was burning now. All because of some stupid conflict.

There were ships still burning in harbor, as well as a few homes in the surrounding area that had managed to get caught in the crossfire. People were screaming, some of them grabbing buckets of water from the harbor to try and douse the flames, while others- like Aziraphale, stood around and watched everything happening.

It was like he’d been cut off from everything; his body, his mind, even Heaven for a brief moment. He knew that he should start helping, doing something. The library was gone, but he might be able to save some of the homes or the people still in the area…

But he couldn’t move. Instead, he could only stand there and watch as it burned.

He wasn’t sure how long he had stood there, gazing deep into the red and orange as it blurred together in front of him, but he knew it must have been a while. Eventually, he registered someone coming to stand next to him.

“I’m sorry about the library, angel,” Crowley’s voice said. It was quiet and yet somehow Aziraphale had completely heard and understood him over all the chaos that was going on around them. It’s like they were in their own little bubble, just the two of them.

He turned his head, finally managing to look away from the library. Crowley was standing there, his coloring easily matching the fire with his dark black robes and his bright red hair. Those silly glasses were firmly over his eyes, doing their best to hide them from anyone looking at them.

Aziraphale stood there, unsure what to say. 

“I tried…” Crowley said, his voice trailing off. His forked tongue flickered over his lips, a nervous habit that Aziraphale hadn’t seen in a while. “I tried to stop it. Or-or at least save some things.” His hands, which were clasped behind his back were fidgeting in an un-Crowley like way. 

“Why?” Aziraphale asked, his eyebrows scrunched up as he looked at Crowley. When Crowley seemed confused he clarified. “I mean, why would you do that?”

Crowley had fully turned away from the fire and almost startled look came over his face. “Please don’t cry, angel, I hate seeing you cry.” He reached out with one hand, the hesitation clear in the pause he held for a brief moment, before eventually bringing it to Aziraphale’s face to wipe away the tears Aziraphale didn’t even know he had been crying.

They stood there, staring at each other. Aziraphale searched for any sign of guilt on Crowley’s face, but he couldn’t find any traces of it. Still, he had to be sure. Those glasses could hide a lot, after all.

“Did you do this?” Aziraphale asked softly.

Crowley paused before dropping his hand from Aziraphale’s face, almost like he had been scorched by the flames around them. “Did I do this?” Crowley repeated. “Are you asking if I burned down the library?” There was an icy undertone to Crowley’s words. It was unusual to hear the demon sound like that, especially when he was speaking to Aziraphale. “Why would I burn down the library?”

“Because you’re a demon,” Aziraphale said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “That’s what demons do.”

An awful weight seemed to settle over the both of them as the tension in the air grew. The flames nearby were still crackling, but neither one of them seemed to register them anymore. Their bubble was collapsing, turning in on themselves. 

“Not this one,” Crowley said. There were things that he could have said to Aziraphale, words that he knew would hurt the angel such as pointing out that Heaven was the one who tended to cast out those who asked questions or sought out knowledge, but he knew that wouldn’t help. He could quell his own devilish habits if it meant that he might spare his angel any more pain.

Aziraphale wiped the remaining tears away with the back of his hand. The sadness in his gaze hurt Crowley, but there was nothing to be done about that right now. All they could do for now was move on and hope for the best, just hope that the next generation of humans who came after this one would be better.

“Let’s go, angel,” Crowley said, offering his hand. It wouldn’t do them any good to keep standing around out here, plus Crowley would hate to accidentally get caught by the flames if they continued to spread like they were.

Aziraphale didn’t take the hand, but he did follow along next to the demon. That would have to be enough for now.

“You could always make your own,” Crowley said. The silence between them was killing him, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Aziraphale felt the same.

“What?” he asked, his attention brought back to the demon next to him. 

“A library. Or something like it, I don’t know. You could start your own, have all the scrolls and texts or whatever else you want,” Crowley said. He shot a small, mischievous grin towards Aziraphale. “I bet yours would be even better.”

Aziraphale considered this. He’d never really thought about having his own private collection before. Sure, he had more than his fair share of them already, but it was nothing like Crowley was hinting at.

It wouldn’t bring back the Library of Alexandria, but it would be a start.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a couple of months ago and posted if over on my tumblr and just now got around to posting it here. I hope you guys enjoy it!


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